Chain adjustment for cycles.



No. 663,962. Patented Dec. l8, I900. J. B. DUNLOP &. J. B. DUNLDP, In.

CHAIN ADJUSTMENT FUR CYCLES.

(Application filed Mar. 19, 1900.1

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No. Model.)

No. 663,962 Patented Dec. l8, I900. J. B. DUNLOP &. J. B. DUNLOP, .IR.

CHAIN ADJUSTMENT FOR CYCLES.

(Application filed Mar. 19, 1900.| (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

/ /l/IIIIIIIIMIQIIILI/l m2 norms Perms ca. PuoTo-urua, wAswmo'rou, n. c

UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

JOHN BOYD DUNLOP AND JOHN BOYD DUNL'OP, .lR., OF DUBLIN, IRELAND.

CHAIN ADJUSTMENT FOR CYCLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 663,962, dated December18, 1900.

Application filed March 19,1900. Serial No. 9,257. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN BOYD DUNLOP and J OHN BOYD DUNLOP, J r.,subjects of the Queen of England,residing atDublin,Ireland, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to theChain Adjustment of Cycles, (for which we have made application forLetters Patent in Great Britain, No. 18,239, dated September 9, 1899,)of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the chain adjustment ofcycles, its object being to provide a simple chain-adjusting device andto so attach the axle of the drivingwheel to that device or to the forkend of the machine that the wheel may be readily removed without.interfering with the adjustment of the chain.

According to this invention the extremities of the wheel-axle do notprotrude through the fork ends, but are drilled and tapped and aresecured by bolts which pass through the fork ends. form. Preferably ametal block is provided adapted to slide in the slot of the fork end,that portion of the block which is inside the fork end beingconveniently in the form of a saddle or arch which receives the end ofthe wheel-axle or cone on the axle, while that part of the block whichis on the outside of the fork end forms a collar or washer against whichthe head of the bolt which screws into the end of the axle bears. A boltor screw is secured to the block, and upon this screw is a flanged nutwhich works in a plate attached to the fork end. The block and its screwthus form a drag-link, and by turning the nut the position of the blockmay be altered relatively to the fork end and the chain adjusted. Theblock need not necessarily extend on both sides of the fork end. Thesaddle-shaped portion of it may be formed separately, and a ridge orprojection may be made on the fork end, so as to bear upon thesaddle-shaped part. 4

Whatever may be the particular construction of the chain-adjustingdevice the wheel is free to be removed on the withdrawal of the boltswithout interfering with the adjustment of the chain.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate various devices forsecuring the wheel- The fork ends may be of the usual.

axle and adjusting the chain of a cycle, all according to thisinvention, Figure l is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a vertical section onthe line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the drag-linkshown in Figs. 1 and 2. Figs. 4. and 5 are perspective views of anotherconstruction of drag-link. Fig. 6 is a vertical section similar to Fig.2, showing a drag-link of the form shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Figs. 7 and 8are respectively a vertical section and a side elevation showing anotherform of draglink in position, and Fig. 9 is a separate perspective viewof the drag-link.

Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

With reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, A and A are portions of thebackstays of the machine, to which is attached a slotted fork end B. Cis a drag-link, comprising a block 0 and a screw 0 One side of the block0 is in the form of a saddle-shaped portion 0 and slots 0 are providedin the block to accommodate the slotted fork end B. The other side ofthe block 0 forms a collar or washer 0 D is a non-rotatable wheel-axlethe end of which does not extend beyond the inner face of the fork endB, but is drilled and tapped to receive a bolt E, which passes throughthe block 0 and the slotted fork end B. Flats are preferably formed onthe end of the wheelaxle where it enters the saddle-shaped portion 0 ofthe block 0.

Attached to the ends of the slotted fork end B is an end plate F, andportions of the fork end adjacent to this plate are cut away, as at G,to form a recess in which a flange H of a nut H works. The other portionof the nut H passes through the end plate F, and, as will be readilyseen, the rotation of this nut will cause the drag-link O to alter itsposition relatively to the fork end B. The flange H being held betweenthe fork end B and the fixed end plate F is undetachable, and hence thedanger of losing the parts is minimized.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. l,

5, and 6 the washer-like portion of the draglink 0 is dispensed with,the head of the bolt E coming right up against the outer face of thefork end B.

Figs. 7, 8, and 9 illustrate another device according to this inventionin which the block 0 of the drag-link does not enter the slot of thefork end B at all, but bears against its inner face, a projection orridge B being formed on the inside of the fork end B and resting uponthe saddle-shaped portion 0 The drawings illustrate the cone as solidwith the road-wheel axle; but the cone may be screwed onto the axle, andthe wheel-bearing may have either a disk or cone adjustment.

What We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. In a cycle the combination of a slotted fork end, a drag-link free toslide Within the fork end, a saddle-shaped portion upon the drag-link,slots in the drag-link to receive the fork ends, a screw attached to thedrag-link, a not engaging with the screw and held free to rotate in arecess in the fork end, a nonrotatable Wheel-axle the end of which doesnot protrude through the fork end but is accommodated in thesaddle-shaped portion of the drag-link and a bolt passing through thelink and the fork end and engaging with a tapped hole in the end of thewheel-axle substantially as set forth.

2. In a cycle, the combination of a fork end, a wheel-axle, a drag-linkslidably mounted on the fork end and having a saddle-shaped portion onthe inside of the fork end to receive the axle, means for adjusting theposition of the drag-link relatively to the fork end, and a bolt passingthrough the fork end and the link and engaging with a tapped hole in theend of the axle, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JOHN BOYD DUNLOP.

JOHN BOYD DUNLOP, JR.

Witnesses:

JOSHUA WILBOUR, ARTHUR DONN PIATT.

